to draw a harrow over (land).
to disturb keenly or painfully; distress the mind, feelings, etc., of.
to ravish; violate; despoil.
(of Christ) to descend into (hell) to free the righteous held captive.
a borough of Greater London, in SE England.
a boarding school for boys, founded in 1571 at Harrow-on-the-Hill, an urban district near London, England.
(tr) to draw a harrow over (land)
(intr) (of soil) to become broken up through harrowing
(tr) to distress; vex
to plunder or ravish
(of Christ) to descend into (hell) to rescue righteous souls
1250–1300; Middle English harwe; akin to Old Norse herfi harrow, Dutch hark rake, Greek krṓpion sickle
before 1000; Middle English harwen, herwen, Old English hergian to harry
To harrow is to cause worry and upset, the way a truly scary movie might harrow you, making it hard to sleep without turning on the light. Harrow is an uncommon verb that was originally used in a religious context. You're much more likely to hear the adjective harrowing used for things that are extremely distressing. But if your cat torments you nightly with her incessant meowing, you might try yelling, "Why do you harrow me?" In agriculture, harrow has a completely different meaning: it's a device that helps break up the soil. And if you harrow your land, you use such a device.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Track maintenance will then harrow the track to release the compactness and return it to its regular consistency for racing.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2021
Alcée rode his horse under the shelter of a side projection where the chickens had huddled and there were plows and a harrow piled up in the corner.
From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021
Until 10 years ago, each autumn the brothers would laboriously turn over lifeless slabs of clay, which needed to be pulverised with a power harrow before sowing could begin.
From The Guardian • Feb. 25, 2020
In her diary entry for July 15, 1944, Anne Frank wrote words that would harrow and challenge generations not yet born: “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”
From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2019
I finished it in the afternoon, and planned to harrow it in the morning, and then seed it.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
